Gadge One-Shots
by kkaylawrites
Summary: Just a bunch of Gadge one-shots that I've come up with. None of these scenes are related to another, unless directly stated. Feel free to send me prompts or requests!
1. Christmas Reconnection

**So I realized that posting all my one-shots as separate fics would be a bad idea. Somebody on Tumblr suggested that I started a collection of oneshots, which is exactly what I've decided to do. None of these stories will be related to each other, unless directly stated.**

** Feel free to send me prompt requests via tumblr/comments!**

Gale groaned in frustration when he heard a series of knocks at his door. Although it was Christmas, he wasn't expecting any company nor did he want any. Last year was the first Christmas in Panem since the war ended and it was also the first one Gale spent without his family. He made the mistake of trying to replace his family's presence with that of some random girl he picked up from a bar, but that only resulted in disaster. This year Gale was determined to spend his winter holidays free from a hangover (not to mention free from dealing with the messy aftermath of an one night stand). But Gale's plans had a nasty habit of never working out, as proven by the insistent knocking that just wouldn't go away.

"Coming," he called out gruffly without bothering to mask the annoyance in his voice.

The list of people that would be visiting him on Christmas was very limited. Gale wasn't exactly the most sociable person ever since the war came to an end and the only people that ever stepped foot into his flat nowadays was his elderly neighbor Mrs. Bonner, the occasional one night stand, and very few of his coworkers. A glance through his peephole showed that it was one of the latter group of people disrupting his lonely but so far peaceful Christmas night.

"Wyatt," Gale practically growled when he swung open the door with much more force than was needed. He left the latch locked though, so that Wyatt couldn't invite himself in like he usually did. This forced Gale to hiss out his next words through the small space between the door and the doorframe. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Wow, you're really living it up in here aren't you?" Wyatt grinned as he peered through the small space to observe Gale's very shabby attire that consisted of pajama pants and an old shirt Gale remembered wearing even far back in his District 13 days. "Please forgive me for interrupting your oh so riveting Christmas evening."

Gale rolled his eyes and considered shutting the door in the other man's face. As if reading his mind Wyatt placed his foot in front of the door to prevent Gale from following through his thoughts.

"I brought you some company."

"Please don't tell me that you're still trying to hook me up with your cousin. Because no offense man, but I'm really not interested," Gale had to swallow a groan at the memory of Wyatt's previous attempts to meddle with his love life.

"Oh shove off. My cousin could do ten times better than you," Wyatt said. Gale could practically hear the grin in the other man's voice. "I'm here on work related stuff actually. As much as I enjoy your bright and sunny personality, I'd much rather be canoodling with my girlfriend under the mistletoe. Open the door for me would ya?"

"What kind of work related stuff?" Gale asked suspiciously. "This is supposed to be a holiday you know. As in I'm not supposed to even hear the word 'work'."

"You're really making me talk to you like this?" Wyatt huffed, gesturing towards the small space between the door and the door frame where he could barely make out Gale's face. "Just undo the damn latch so I can explain things properly."

Wyatt sighed when Gale remained stoic and made no move to let his friend in.

"You know how the government is trying to reconnect everybody that was separated from the war? And you know how everybody's pitching in with Christmas being today and all," Wyatt explained. "Well it turns out that this little lady standing next to me, who you would have seen ages ago if you had opened the door like a civilized human being by the way, says she knows you."

"What?" Gale fumbled to close the door and undo the latch. In the mere seconds that took him to unlock the door all the way, he tried to guess who it could possibly be. Wyatt was right. The government had been going crazy trying to reconnect friends and families alike who were separated during the war. Gale himself had witnessed many of these reunions himself and couldn't help but feel an excitement building in his stomach. Who could it be? His childhood friend Thom, maybe? No, Wyatt had said that it was a 'little lady'. Maybe Bristel then? Or maybe somebody else from the Seam?

Gale threw the door open and came face to face with somebody he never thought he would see again—Madge Undersee.

"What the fuck."

The words escaped his mouth before he could stop them. He stood there staring at her—her wide, blue eyes, her golden hair, and her pale skin that almost looked translucent. She was much thinner than when he had last seen her back at District 12, so much so that she could have passed as a Seam kid if they had been back in District 12. After a couple more awkward seconds of gaping, Gale noted that her eyes darted in every direction every couple of seconds and that her hands couldn't seem to stand still. Both acts were too much like the nervous tics he recognized from dealing with people who survived the Capitol's prisons.

"Er—you don't know her?" Wyatt asked, glancing between Gale and Madge nervously after a stretched out silence.

"No, no I do," Gale said quickly when he saw a panicked look beginning to spread on the blonde girl's face. It was almost natural instinct for him to want to get rid of it. "Well, sort of."

"Alrighty then," Wyatt said with an overly cheerful smile that was clearly forced. "If you two think you'll be okay, I'll just leave you two to catch up. I got my own lady friend to go back to you know."

"Sure. Yeah, okay," Gale found himself saying. His mind was too muddled from the shock to form the usual sarcastic remark he would have usually given Wyatt. Noticing this, Wyatt frowned.

"Hey Margaret, is it?" Wyatt asked in that kind voice that Gale had heard his friend use when he talked to his five year old niece. "Why don't you go inside while I talk to Gale about something real quick."

Madge hesitated, but nodded and looked to Gale nervously. Gale wordlessly moved out of the way. He didn't fail to notice that she was careful to avoid touching him when she passed by.

"Okay, what is up with you?" Wyatt asked in a hushed voice when Madge was out of hearing distance. "Are you sure you know that girl or do I need to take her back or what?"

"I know her," Gale said. Firmly, this time.

"Right."

Wyatt still looked suspicious, but he let Gale off the hook.

"Listen, I don't know what she is to you or what you are to her, but that girl's been through a lot. I looked over her file on my way here and she was in the Capitol's claws ever since Twelve was attacked. And then she had to go through a bunch of questioning from _our_ lot because she was a Mayor's kid. I think this is her first time being free since she was captured by the Capitol. So if you think you're going to give her even more of a hard time, I'll just take her back to my place because I refuse to take her back to the shelter."

"I'll take care of her," Gale confirmed. He tried not to show his surprise at Wyatt's suddenly serious demeanor.

"Fine. I'll stop by tomorrow, yeah?"

Gale finally shut the door close when the sound of Wyatt's departing footsteps faded out into the darkness. He entered the living room to find Madge awkwardly standing in the middle, as if she was unsure of what to do with herself.

"I… I'm glad you're alive, Madge." And he was surprised to find that his words were sincere. As much as he had resented her back in the day, her supposed death had been one of the many deaths that Gale had felt responsible for when District 12 burned to the ground. As much as he hated to admit it Gale had been thankful for Madge's subtle overpayment of strawberries and her friendship with Katniss that had motivated her sacrifice her Mother's morphine to save his life. He had always been too much of a coward to properly voice his thanks and when he had heard that the Mayor's house had been the first to succumb to the bombs, he thought that he would never get the chance. And now he did, he realized with a start. Madge Undersee was breathing and very much alive, standing in front of him. This knowledge was enough to lift a miniscule amount of weight from his heavy conscious.

"Sorry for uh, my response back there. I just wasn't expecting you is all."

"I understand. I'm sorry for barging in like this," Madge said in a small voice. She shifted her weight from one foot to another as she talked and Gale found himself being afraid that she would fall and shatter into a million pieces. "I didn't mean to, really. But they kept on insisting on sending me somewhere and everybody else… well, everybody else I knew is either dead or too traumatized to deal with me."

"Don't apologize," was all Gale could manage in response. "Why don't you take a seat? You look tired. Let me get you some water or something."

"I'm fine," Madge said, but Gale ignored her and walked into the kitchen to grab her a glass of water. What else could he do? As he grabbed a cup from one of his kitchen cabinets he heard Madge enter the kitchen as well.

"Here." He placed the cup of water on the table and took a seat, leaving her to have no choice but mirror his actions.

"I have some questions," Gale started slowly, although he had a feeling that he knew most of the answers to his own questions already from Wyatt's rant before. Throughout his experience with this kind of thing, Gale had learned that all war prisoners had similar haunted stories. As glad as he was that the blonde was still alive, he knew that her survival would not have came with ease.

He watched as she stiffened in her seat. She took a sip of water in a clear attempt to prolong the silence.

"Okay," she finally said after placing the cup back onto the table. Her hands remained wrapped around the cup.

"People said that the Mayor's house was the first to be hit when the bombs came. They found bodies in the house, and the numbers matched up. How…?"

"My mother's doctor was from the Capitol. He called to warn us in advance," Madge's grip around her cup tightened. "But our phoneswere bugged and his warning was intercepted. The Peacekeepers caught my family before we could do anything and they took us on their train so we couldn't tell people." She paused. "I'm not sure why they didn't kill us then and there."

Her knuckles were white from gripping her cup so tightly, and Gale reached out to pry the cup out of her hands. He was sure that she would have broken the glass if he hadn't pulled it away. She was clearly drained—both physically and mentally—and he didn't want to push the poor girl any further. It was stupid of him to try in the first place.

"Never mind. Stupid of me to trying to push a conversation out of you when you're obviously tired," he said with a quick attempt at an smile. "Why don't you get some rest and we'll talk more tomorrow?

"I don't want to be a burden," Madge said. He could tell that she was trying to sound hard and determined, but her frail frame and the overall tiredness of her voice ruined the effect. "I can leave. I _should_ leave. As long as you don't report me missing the government won't bother you about me again. They're too busy with everything else that's going on."

"Don't be silly," Gale stood up to show her to his room.

It took much persuading on his part, but Madge reluctantly climbed into his bed as he grabbed a pillow and a blanket to spend the night on the couch.

"Good night Madge," he said before leaving her in his room. He paused before saying softly, "I really am glad to see you again."


	2. Piano Concert

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.**

Even a war could not take away her pretty dress and her damn piano.

Gale took in the sight of the blonde's delicate fingers flying over the piano keys. The scene was strangely familiar yet unfamiliar all at the same time, and in that moment he could almost pretend like the past couple of years had never happened. If he just closed his eyes he could imagine himself back in District 12; back when he was ashamed of his coal covered boots staining the pristine granite floors of the Undersee mansion.

His lips twisted into a bitter smile as he realized that nothing had changed during their time apart. Madge Undersee was still the pretty girl who was lucky enough to spend her time playing the piano and Gale Hawthorne was still the Seam boy who worked his ass off and liked looking at pretty girls making pretty music.

He stayed seated as the rest of the audience in the packed auditorium jumped to their feet clapping and cheering. The overwhelming amount of praise and applause was so different from the wordless half smiles that he used to award her whenever her fingers came to a stop, poised on top of the black and white keys as the last note faded away. Madge used to say that his rare smile was the highest amount of praise she could ever receive. He wondered if she still stood by her words.

He watched as she stood and took a gracious bow, her smile holding just the right amount of humbleness and self confidence.

She was the same pretty girl from 12 and he hated her for it.

Gale's reputation as a war hero was enough to grant him access to the after party limited to VIP members of the audience. Although he did earn himself a curious look or two, nobody questioned his presence backstage and for once in his life he was grateful for the intimidation that came with his newfound fame.

He heard her laugh before he saw her. It was almost as melodic as the piano concertos she had just preformed and Gale found himself lost in time all over again.

How many times had he heard that laugh before? How many days did he spend in District 12, hating himself for replaying that laugh in his mind over and over again every time he passed by that one strawberry bush in the woods? And how many times did he replay that laugh in his head while drowning himself in guilt, blaming himself for robbing the world of that laugh when District 12 was burned to the ashes? He had been told that the Mayor's house had been the first target to be hit by the Capitol. Delly Cartwright had said that she had seen the ruins of the once grand mansion herself, and that it would have been impossible for anybody to have survived. Gale had no reason to doubt Delly's words until now.

Yet here she was, the Mayor's daughter, looking healthier and happier than she had ever looked in District 12.

He leaned against a wall and watched her as she jumped from one conversation to another, hugging and greeting people all around her. People seemed to be congratulating her every five seconds. How did everybody know her? How did all of these random people know that Madge had been alive, when Gale had spent the past couple of years mourning her death?

Eventually a middle-aged women caught sight of him and tapped on Madge's shoulder to nod towards Gale's direction. He didn't have time to decide if this was a good or bad thing before Madge turned around, her blue orbs meeting his grey ones.

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped in shock—as if _he_ was the one who had been declared dead but suddenly popped out of nowhere happy and well, performing in the most prestigious performance hall in all of Panem.

"Gale," Madge breathed out his name and her lips that formed a perfect 'O' morphed into a smile. He knew without hearing the actual sound of her voice that it was his name she had said, because his eyes recognized the familiar movements of her lips. This movement of her lips had been the very ones to haunt his nightmares since Gale had came to terms with the fact that he had failed to save her.

It was strange to see Madge looking so beautiful and happy. The girl standing merely a foot away from him now looked nothing like the dying, tragic girl who had haunted his nightmares for so long. Usually in his nightmares she would be consumed by flames by now, or at the very least begging for him to save her life.

But this wasn't a nightmare, Gale reminded himself. Madge was not dead, Madge was alive. Much more alive and much more happier than Gale himself was.

He took a deep breath and with great effort, unglued himself from the wall he had been leaning against and started to move through the crowd towards her. She stood in place waiting for him with a smile on her face. The seconds it took him to walk over to her felt even longer than the years they had spent apart.

"Madge. You're alive."

As hard as he tried, he couldn't quite hide his bitterness. His words that should have full of relief and joy were too accusing, even to his own ears. A part of him regretted his tone as he watched her smile slip a bit, but a larger part of him was too angry to care.

"Gale," Madge said his name again and this time he was close enough to hear her. "I can't believe you're here." She refused to let go of her smile, although he noticed that her shock was now replaced by nervousness.

"_You_ can't believe _I'm_ here? I thought you were dead. Don't you fucking dare act surprised to see me because _I'm_ not the one who miraculously rose from the dead."

The words spilled out of him, fueled by the anger and disbelief that he had been feeling ever since he saw her name on a flyer advertising her concert at the grocery store last weekend.

"I-I'm sorry," Madge stuttered. "I assumed you knew that I made it out. I told Katniss and Peeta. I called them after the war. I guess they forgot to mention it to you."

Gale clenched his jaw. So even Katniss and Peeta knew. Everybody knew, except for him. For the millionth time since the war ended, Gale mentally punched himself for cutting ties with his former best friend.

"And quite honestly I don't see why you care so much," Madge continued. Her eyes narrowed now, and he saw a minuscule amount of his own anger reflected in her eyes. It was nothing compared to his own anger, but it was anger nonetheless. "You made it perfectly clear that you couldn't care less about me back at District 12."

"Don't you dare stand there and tell me that I didn't-that I _don't_ care about you," Gale practically spat out his words. He was barely even aware of what was coming out of his mouth anymore. "Not when I spent the last couple of years torturing myself for not getting you out in time. Not when I spent my nights drinking into oblivion just to get the thought of you burning alive out of my head."

Her eyes softened and moved her mouth as if to interrupt him, but he didn't let her.

"And I went through all that for nothing. Turns out that you were happy and alive. Perks of being a Mayor's daughter, eh? I bet you and your daddy were warned about the bombs and went to save your own skins. To think that I was actually worried about you-that I _mourned_ for you, when you were at the Capitol the whole time, living out your life while the rest of watched our home burn to the ashes. I bet you were banging away at that stupid piano of yours while the rest of us were fighting for our lives. That's all you know how to do, isn't it? Play the piano while everybody else around you dies? That's all you did in District 12, that's all you did out of District 12, and that's all you do now."

"_Don't you dare!_"

He fumed and attempted to catch his breath as she interrupted him. The anger in her eyes was back, much stronger than before. Her blue eyes were flashing dangerously and looked suspiciously wet.

"Don't you _dare_ assume that I didn't suffer Gale Hawthorne." She was yelling, and that was when he realized that he had been as well. But neither of them took notice of the crowd that stared at them in shock. They were too preoccupied, too hurt by each other. He stared at her, waiting for her to continue, to lapse into a rant of her own to rival his. But instead, her next words were delivered in a whisper. "I used to try to prove that I'm a better person than the horrible person you assume I am to be. But I'm not going to do that anymore. Think whatever you want Gale, because I'm done with trying to prove myself to you."

And with that, she walked away. He had half a mind to grab her by the arm and demand an explanation. What did she mean when she said she suffered? What was the worst she could have suffered, if she had escaped District 12 before the bombs fell? A shortage of the usual feast she was used to having at meals perhaps? Or maybe she had been forced to abandon her dresses during the war. Nothing compared to what the rest of the District had suffered, both the ones who had died and the ones who had survived and made it to District 13. Gale's lips curled in disgust with the blonde he once might have loved and he stomped away.

Gale spent the rest of his night downing shot after shot of alcohol. The scene wasn't all that different from how he usually spent his nights when he would try to rid himself of his guilty conscience. The only difference between tonight and all the other nights was that he was cursing the blonde in his mind rather than cursing himself.

"Gale, my man!"

Gale grumbled under his breath when he heard a familiar voice call out for him. As much as he enjoyed his friend's company, he wasn't in the mood for company at the moment.

"Cole," he grunted out his friend's name with no enthusiasm whatsoever. "I'm not in the mood for you. Piss off."

Gale scowled as Cole laughed. Cole had a habit of taking everything Gale said as a joke.

"You're never in the mood for anything. Hey watcha got here?" Gale watched sullenly as Cole picked up the concert program that Gale had thrown onto the table when he had arrived to the bar. On the cover was the name 'Madge Undersee' written in fancy calligraphy on the front had been taunting him all night. "I didn't know you were into this classical music stuff."

"I'm not."

"Oh it's the musician you're into then? That Madge girl or whatever her name is. Can't say I blame you. Everybody's a sucker for a pretty face with a haunted past. It helps that she isn't half bad at playing the piano I guess. Not that I would know if she's any good or not, but my girlfriend's really into the whole music thing and she practically worships this girl."

"What do you mean, haunted past?" Gale asked sharply, and Cole brightened at Gale's sudden and unusual show of interest.

"Seriously Hawthorne, you live under a rock or something? Everybody knows about how she was captured and tortured by the Capitol during the war. Apparently she claims that she only survived by pretending she was playing the piano while she was locked up or something like that," Cole paused, thinking to himself. "Although I think that last bit might be bullshit. But like I said before, people are a sucker for that kind of tragic story."

"Yeah," Gale said without paying attention to what he was agreeing to. All he could think about was Madge screaming at him, '_Don't you dare assume that I didn't suffer Gale Hawthorne'_.

Captured and tortured, Cole had said. A sudden heavy feeling, a feeling that felt way too similar to the guilt Gale had been carrying for the past couple of years except maybe even worse, settled in Gale's chest as he jumped up onto his feet. Cole looked up at him in surprise, but Gale paid him no attention as he rushed out of the doors.

Gale had a certain blonde pianist to find, and a whole lot of apologizing to do.

**Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed what you saw, please leave a review or follow me for more stories like this.**


	3. Vick Reaped

Gale could count the total number of Victors from District Twelve using only his right hand. He tried his best to ignore this fact as he held his younger brother in his arms for what could be the last time in their lives.

"You can win. You're strong and smart, you're going to win," Gale growled into Vick's ear, every word ringing with sincerity. "You hear me? You're going to win."

He could feel Vick nod against his shoulder and for some reason it was this moment that Gale was shocked by the fact that his baby brother could reach his shoulder at all. It felt like just yesterday that Vick barely even came up to his waist.

"I love you Gale."

The twenty two year old miner wiped the burning liquid from his eyes as he repeated the words to Vick. "I love you too big guy. I'll see you when you come back, okay?"

He left the room before Vick could respond with a hopeless good-bye that would only remind Gale that Vick had virtually no chance of coming back alive. Physically shaking his head to clear his mind of such thoughts, Gale vowed to himself that this would not be their last meeting, that this would not be the last day for Vick to breathe in the coal dust infested air of District 12.

Once he stepped outside of the Justice Building people automatically cleared a path for him as he ran towards the Victor's village. He barely even noticed the pitying glances thrown his way, didn't even think it to be the least bit odd when the Peacekeepers didn't bother to stop him for disturbing the public. Once he finally reached his destination Gale didn't stop banging at the sturdy, mahogany doors until he came face to face with Haymitch himself

"You need to save him," Gale blurted out even before the door in between them was fully open. "He's smart and I've taken him out to the woods a couple of times so he knows his way around. He's strong and smart— he can win. You have to help him win."

Gale refused to let the pungent odor of alcohol fool him. He knew there was more to Haymitch than his drunken grumbling and slurred speech. This drunken fool had brought back a District 12 tribute alive and well once before, what was stopping him from doing it again? And this was Vick—a strong, 15 year old boy who actually knew how to hold and use a knife, not to mention spend several days out in the woods without getting eaten by a rabid animal. Vick had potential, something the other District 12 Victor didn't have, yet she had been victorious. Haymitch had done it once, he could do it again.

"Not my year to coach sonny," Haymitch said with what was meant to be a sympathetic smile, offering Gale a pat on the shoulder. He missed and patted his face instead. "Sorry 'bout that."

"Madge Undersee? She's going to be mentoring him?" Gale listed the only other alive Victor of their district. He could already feel the little hope he had leaving him when Haymitch confirmed his question with a nod. How was that useless girl supposed to bring back his brother alive? "Dammit Haymitch, why?! Why can't you go instead? Please, I'm begging you. You have to go. You have to save Vick."

A horribly familiar voice interrupted Gale's pathetic pleading.

"Your confidence in me is astounding, Hawthorne."

Gale reluctantly turned to face girl that controlled the voice.

The Victor of the 74th Hunger Games had embraced the Capitol life style ever since she volunteered for her best friend's sister for the games and made it out of the arena alive. Her once messy curls were now shaped into eerie perfection and her plump lips were coated with an obnoxious shade of red that contrasted with her pale skin and flamboyant black dress. Her curves were suspiciously pronounced for somebody of her height and Gale didn't miss her signature golden pin on her dress. In other words, she looked beautiful and he hated her for it.

"This is my brother's life we're talking about here. Don't you dare take that tone with me—save your bullshit for the Capitol," Gale snarled, feeling the usual surge of anger that he felt whenever he was around the blonde. The usual hate he harbored for the girl back when she was the spoiled Mayor's daughter only intensified when she made it out of the arena alive and pranced around flaunting her wealth to the rest of the starving district. Even the fact that she volunteered in Prim's place could not get her into his good books.

"You want your brother to come back alive?" Madge asked, one of her perfectly plucked eyebrows disappearing under her artfully mussed up bangs. "Then you listen to me carefully Hawthorne. The real game takes place outside of the arena. When they come to interview you about Vick—and they will come, because he will make it to the Final Eight—smile for the cameras. Share cutesy family stories, talk about Vick's one and only soul mate waiting for him to come back home alive. Be the likeable older brother and make use of that handsome face of yours to get Vick the sponsors he needs. Because in the end it doesn't matter if he can use a knife or not—all he really needs to do is get himself a shitload of sponsors, and you can help him do that. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"You have to bring him back alive," was all he could say in response, and he couldn't even hide the desperation that coursed through his body ever since he heard the name Victor Hawthorne roll off of Effie Trinket's tongue.

Madge glared at him. "Haven't you been listening? Like I told you, just smile and look pretty and you should be fine." She opened her mouth to say more but Haymitch waved his half empty bottle in her face as if to shoo her away.

"The boy gets the point. You're going to be late sweetheart," Haymitch said and Madge sighed. She leaned in to give the older man a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. If this had been any other time, Gale would have expressed his surprise towards the show of affection between the two victors.

"Please remember to take out your trash and try not to suffocate on your own puke."

Gale watched as she climbed into the awaiting vehicle by the entrance gates of the Victor's Village and could only hope that Madge Undersee knew what the hell she was doing.


	4. Valentine's Day

Prompt from tumblr: Valentine's Day Gadge

Madge looked on glumly as Katniss fawned over her frosted heart-shaped cookies and pink cupcakes.

How had this happened? Out of the two, Madge had always been the hopeless romantic and Katniss had always been the cynical one who hated anything remotely romantic. Katniss didn't even cry while watching _The Notebook_ for god's sake, whereas Madge had started sobbing since the very first second of the movie because she had read the book first.

"Are you sure you don't want one?" Katniss offered Madge a cookie for about the millionth time today. Madge knew that her friend wasn't trying to rub in the fact that she had a perfect Valentine or anything, but she couldn't quite hide the bitter glare she shot in her friend's direction.

"No, I'm fine," Madge answered, ignoring Katniss's curious gaze. Madge had a horrible sweet tooth and she usually made a bee line for anything sweet. "Peeta made them for you and only you."

Katniss blushed prettily and even Madge couldn't hold back a smile at her friend's uncharacteristic behavior. Said smile disappeared immediately however, when she heard Katniss's next words.

"So are you and Gale doing anything today?"

Madge almost choked on her own spit.

"Excuse me? Me and _who_?" Madge repeated, wondering if she had heard her friend wrong. Maybe Katniss had said Greg or George or something. Anything but Gale.

"Gale," Katniss said again, looking confused. "Aren't you two…. you know, together?"

"No," Madge answered. "Me and Gale? Are you serious? Where in the world did you get that idea?"

Katniss shrugged. "You two seem to be pretty friendly nowadays. Peeta and I saw you guys having dinner together the other day, so we kind of figured that you two finally got over your sexual tension and got together."

Madge stared at her friend in shock. The words 'sexual tension' did not sound right coming out of Katniss's mouth.

"No," Madge shook her head. "There is no sexual tension between us. And I was buying him dinner because I owed him for helping me move in. You were there when I told him I'd pay him back, remember?"

"Well yeah," Katniss shrugged again. "But I thought that you'd just get him a gift card or something."

Madge stayed silent as Katniss hesitated, as if unsure if she should say what she was going to say next. "And he asked me about you the other day," Katniss added while nibbling on another cookie.

"What?"

"He asked me what kind of flowers you liked and what movies you liked. Stuff like that. Being so close to Valentine's day, I kind of figured that he was planning something," Katniss said.

"What?!" Madge said again in a louder voice. Her eyes were wide in shock and her heart was thumping in excitement. She could hardly believe it. Sure she and Gale had started talking a lot more nowadays and they hung out now and then, but they had never strayed out of the safe zone of their new found friendship.

She cleared her throat when Katniss gave her a knowing look and tried to recompose herself, "I mean, he was probably just trying to make conversation."

Katniss snorted, not buying Madge's self admittedly lame excuse for a second. "Gale never asks about girls," Katniss commented. "He hinted that he was planning on coming over tonight. I'm supposed to keep you here until then. I think I was supposed to be subtler about it, though."

Madge giggled and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall of the dorm the two girls shared, jumping out of her seat when she noticed the time.

"Peeta's coming over at 2 right? It's already one thirty. I'll head out now so you two can have your privacy."

Katniss protested immediately as she always did whenever Madge insisted on leaving the two alone at her own inconvenience. Madge honestly didn't mind. She usually went to the library or a coffee shop to study.

Madge left the dorm with light-hearted steps, and her good mood was evident. She couldn't help herself as she came up with several scenarios of what could happen that night in her head, all of them involving a shirtless Gale and ample amounts of chocolate.

She knew that she wouldn't be able to concentrate on her studies even if she tried, so she decided to stop by the grocery store rather than follow her usual routine of going to the library. If Gale was coming over, she wanted to be prepared.

She headed towards the Wine aisle of the store, and was pleasantly surprised to find herself face to face with Gale Hawthorne himself.

"Hey Gale!" she chirped, unable to hide her obvious good mood, despite the fact that she had told herself that she would try to pretend like Katniss hadn't told her anything.

"Madge," he looked flustered as he offered her a tentative smile. "What are you doing here?"

"Just doing some grocery shopping," Madge answered. She glanced down at the bottle of wine in Gale's hands. "Getting ready for a hot date tonight?"

Gale chuckled and nodded. Madge felt her heart leap, until Gale said, "Yeah. I have plans with uh, Glimmer."

Madge felt her smile slowly slipping off of her face. She felt her face starting to burn as she realized Katniss had been wrong—Gale had no plans whatsoever of celebrating Valentine's day with Madge. Not when he had Glimmer, a girl who was famous for her supermodel-like body and flirtatious personality that got all the guys trailing after her. She was perfect for a boy as handsome as Gale. Ugh, their name even started with the same letter, Madge noted with a scowl.

"Do you have any plans?" Gale asked, when Madge stayed silent for a while.

"Yes of course," Madge found the lie slipping out easily. She was not about to look like the pathetic girl who spent Valentine's day by herself. She grabbed at any bottle of wine at random and dumped it unceremoniously into her cart. "Who doesn't? Anyways I guess I'll see you around, yeah?"

She left after that, missing the look of disappointment and surprise on Gale's face as he stared after her retreating back.

-oOo-

Madge was surprised to see that Katniss was still in the dorm room when she got home. "What are you doing here?" Madge asked, confused. "I thought you and Peeta were going out."

"We were," Katniss said. "Until I got a call from Gale asking—excuse me, demanding to know— why I forgot to mention the fact that you already have plans for tonight."

Madge's usually pale face flushed into a shade of bright red. "Oh. Why?"

Katniss gaped at her in disbelief, her mouth opening and closing due to her loss of words. "What do you mean, why?" she demanded to know. "I told you, he's interested in you! I thought I made it clear."

Madge shook her head. "Katniss, I just saw him. He told me he has plans with Glimmer. I told you that you had the wrong idea." It had been stupid of Madge to think that Gale would ever think of her as anything more than a friend. In fact, the fact that they were friends was already a stretch.

Gale and Madge had known each other since they were kids. Gale used to hate Madge and would insult her every rare moment they spent together. She in turn, tried her best to ignore him. It wasn't until recently, when Madge transferred into this college and moved into Katniss's dorm, that Gale started making an effort to be more civilized. Madge scolded herself for hoping for more, when him not insulting every thing about her was more than enough.

Katniss groaned and buried her face into her hands. "Why are you two making this so difficult?" she complained as Madge watched on with befuddlement. "He obviously said that because he doesn't know that you know. He probably picked her name as a cover up story."

Madge shook her head firmly. "I don't know what Gale told you, but you obviously got the wrong idea Katniss. No offense, but it wouldn't be so surprising that you got the wrong idea from a couple of questions. You're kind of clueless when it comes to that kind of thing."

Katniss huffed irritably and rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she muttered.

"So when's Peeta picking you up? Isn't he taking you out?"

"He's waiting for me outside actually, but I was thinking about cancelling if you're sure that you and Gale aren't doing anything," Katniss said while eyeing Madge.

Madge gasped and shook her head, protesting vehemently. "No! Don't you dare cancel your first Valentine day with Peeta for my sake, Katniss Everdeen!"

Katniss chuckled at Madge's response and peeked at her before asking in a small voice, "Are you sure? I wouldn't mind staying home with you."

"Positive," Madge answered. Madge knew that despite her words, Katniss was excited for her date with Peeta tonight. They had been planning it for a while, and Katniss would blush every time the topic was brought up. It was disgustingly cute.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" Katniss asked one last time before going outside.

"Go away," Madge answered with fake annoyance. "And if you come back before twelve I'm locking you out."

Katniss laughed at her friend's antics and reluctantly made her way to her boyfriend's car.

Madge sighed when Peeta's car drove away and disappeared out of the view of her window. Oh, what she would give to be whisked away by her own special someone…

-oOo-

It was seven o'clock when Madge heard a knock at her door.

She had spent her time going over her class notes, preparing for her test on Monday. She figured that if she wasn't celebrating valentine's day, she might as well do something productive.

"I told you Katniss, that if you were back any time before twelve I'd lock you out!" Madge called out as she walked towards the door, her voice only slightly teasing.

"Good thing I'm not Katniss then," a deep voice that most definitely did not belong to Katniss answered, and Madge froze mid-step.

"Gale?" Madge asked in disbelief as she slowly pulled the door open. "What are you doing here?"

He was dressed in a classy button-up and khaki pants, and his hair seemed neater than usual. He looked even more handsome than he usually did, and Madge hadn't known that it was possible for him to get any better looking.

Her eyes zeroed in onto the bouquet of flowers in his right hand and the bottle of wine in his left. His face was slightly red, and his eyes couldn't quite meet hers. Even so, he managed to come up with a witty answer.

"Meeting my hot date," he referred to her question from before, when they had ran into each other at the grocery store.

"But… Glimmer?"

Gale flushed into a deeper shade of red. "Don't laugh, but," he muttered out his explanation, obviously embarrassed. "I panicked. I wanted to surprise you and I didn't know what else to say."

Madge wasn't sure if she should be kissing him or punching him in the face.

"So are you going to invite me in?" Gale asked, regaining his usual snarky composure.

Madge flushed and stepped out of the doorway, silently allowing him to walk inside.

"I hope I'm not bothering you," Gale said, glancing towards her. "Katniss told me that you didn't have any plans, but you said you did. I can leave if you—"

"I panicked too," Madge interrupted him. It was her turn to look embarrassed now.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Gale cleared his throat before all but shoving the flowers and wine bottle into her hands. "Here. Katniss told me that these were your favorites."

Madge glanced down and nodded to confirm that yes, the wine and red roses were indeed her favorites, as cliche as it was.

They stood there like that, staring at each other as both of their already red cheeks steadily grew redder and redder. Finally, Gale broke the silence by collapsing onto Madge's bed and running a hand through his hair.

"This wasn't supposed to be awkward," he groaned, his eyes trained onto the floor and avoiding her surprised gaze. "I wasn't—I wasn't supposed to screw up like that. I wasn't supposed to get all flustered when I ran into you at the market and I was supposed to be all smooth and shit when you opened the door. You were supposed to be swooning by now."

Madge couldn't help but giggle at his obvious distress. It was just so cute.

"And now you're laughing!" Gale exclaimed, throwing his hands up into the air. "This is exactly why I haven't done this for the past couple of years."

"What do you mean, the past couple of years?"

"Oh God," Gale groaned again. "No wonder you and Katniss are such good friends. Both of you are so fucking clueless."

Madge stared at him, wondering if she should be offended.

"I've had a thing for you since, well… since I was 15," Gale admitted. His eyes were on hers now, instead of the carpeted floor of the dorm room. "And you obviously didn't notice."

"How would I notice?!" Madge asked, bewildered. "All you've done is insult me for the first couple of years since we've known each other."

Gale pursed his lips and his eyes returned to the floor. "I may have had some trouble expressing my emotions."

Madge laughed. She couldn't help it—it was so ridiculous.

It was odd enough to think that Gale liked her now, when they just recently became friends. To think that he liked her when all they used to do was insult each other was an impossible feat.

"Right," she heard Gale speak up through her laughter. "Since the idea of me liking you is just so hilarious, I'll just leave now."

That stopped Madge's laughter.

"What? No, wait…," Madge reached out to grab Gale's arm as he tried to move past her. "I'm sorry. I didn't.. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. It's just, all kind of unbelievable. And sudden."

"No. It's my fault," Gale said quietly. "I shouldn't have… I was a stupid kid." He peeked at her through his lashes that were unfairly long for a guy. "I wouldn't blame you if you had hated me when we were kids."

Madge shrugged. "I should have. You used to be really mean to me." Gale hung his head.

"But I always thought you kind of looked like Liam Hemsworth," Madge said with a shrug. "So the fact that you were cute kind of made up for your meanness I guess. And it helps that you're better at uh, '_expressing your emotion_s' now."

"Liam Hemsworth? You mean the actor?" Gale asked, amusement taking over his distress from before. "Isn't he a blonde though?"

"But if he dyed his hair, you guys would look exactly alike."

Gale chuckled and reached for her hand that was still resting on his arm. His hand wrapped around her smaller one, his eyes teasing but strangely warm as he said, "I disagree, but if that's what's preventing you from hating my teenage self, I'm all for it."

Their night did not end up with a shirtless Gale and melted chocolate as Madge had daydreamed about before, but it was nearly as perfect.

Madge wasn't too disappointed though—there was plenty of time for a shirtless Gale and melted chocolate to become a reality in the future.

**AN: Happy Valentine's day everybody! And shoutout to the hot singles out there who don't need no man to eat a box of chocolate and watch cheesy romcoms:***


End file.
